Pakistan Partnership in GWOT has Rattled Pakistanis:
Until March 17, 2002, when an Afghan suicide bomber struck at the church located inside Islamabad diplomatic enclave, Pakistanis were unfamiliar with suicide bombings. But particularly since 2007, Pakistan has suffered almost 210 such attacks, piling misery and destruction in different locations. What becomes obvious from the trail of violence is the centrality of suicide bombings by brainwashed activists belonging to various groups; Lashkar-e- Jhangvi, Jaish-e- Mohammad, Tehreek-e-i Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (primarily sectarian in nature). Before September 11, 11 September 2001, the al-Al Qaeda did employ suicide missions as part its global jihad, yet in the aftermath of9/11, the extremist interpretation of jihad has undergone a more radical change, basically degenerating into a cult of suicide bombing.
Pakistan ´ Suffering the Most:
Most Pakistanis can tick off any number of militant attacks that have killed innocents in recent years. On May 28 gunmen and a suicide squad massacred nearly a 100 Ahmedi Muslims in Lahore. Three days later on June 1st, terrorists raided the hospital where a surviving attacker was under treatment, leaving killing another five killed in the ensuing battle with the security personnel. On the first of July 1, two suicide bombings killed about 50 at the popular Data Darbar Sufi e shrine in Lahore , one of Pakistan politically important cities. And on July 9th, a similarly well-coordinated terror strike in the tribal region – Mohmand Agency ´ left a bloody trail of death and destruction, killing; at least 106 dead and injuring dozens injured. The apparent target was the assembly of tribal elders with the local government administrator. As many as 32 prisoners, many of them terror suspects and accused, also escaped after parts of the road-side jail came crumbling down because of the massive impact.
As of July 22nd, more than over 1,106 people ´ , including women, and children, soldiers and policemen ´ were got killed in about a thousand big and small acts of terror, including at least 32 suicide attacks, which caused of the majority of the deaths.
Al-Qaeda couldn–t hit the US but has Wrecked Pakistan:
Developments since 2004 in particular also bear testimony to the footprints of Al Qaeda in the suicide bombings in Afghanistan and Pakistan; the mujahideen did not carry out a single suicide attacks during the ten-year-long Afghan war against the Soviets. The assassination on September 9, 2001, assassination of the Afghan Northern Alliance leader Ahmed Shah Masoud by suicide bombers was the first such al-Al Qaeda signature attack in Afghanistan. In their pre-martyrdom videos, bombers, while vowing commitment to God, also taunt their audiences with phrases such as ‘¿while you Americans love life, we love death’. – When these videos are shown on Western television they evoke dislike, contempt, at times mockery, and resultantly also fuel anti-Islamic xenophobia in the West¶which in turn attracts more recruits into the ranks of suicide bombers in countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. The same al- Qaeda ideology also proliferated the ranks of what is meanwhile known as the Punjabi Taliban, particularly the Lashkar-e- Jhangvi, Jaish-e- Mohammad and disgruntled elements within the Kashmir-focused Lashkar-e- Taiba. These militants are essentially adherents of the Deobandi school of thought, which opposes Muslims visiting the Sufi shrines and offering prayers there. (Tthe attacks on Data Darbar in Lahore, Bari Imam shrine in capital Islamabad and on several similar places in the northwest bear testimony to this ideology).
Violence in the Name of Religion is Losing Steam:
But if the trends in the Khyber Pukhtunkhwa are any indication, support for those carrying out suicide bombings is dwindling. In at least two dozen instances between September 2009 and March 2010, local residents led the security forces to arrest members of Maulana Fazlullah TTP, considered an extension of al-Qaeda in the region. The human losses, particularly of women and children, as a result of suicide attacks, seem to have discredited suicide bombings as ‘a legitimate tool in the way of jihad.’ Religious scholars, at a conference in Lahore in late June, condemned suicide attacks, with almost all attendees rejecting suicide bombings as un-Islamic. That came on the heels of an October 2008 fatwa that branded such attacks as being in conflict with the teachings of Islam.
Al-Qaeda on the Run Now and Space Shrinking:
Indeed, al-Qaeda members have found it more difficult to find sanctuary in Pakistan of late. The death in the Waziristan region of more than two dozen al-Qaeda leaders and activists since early 2009 ´ including that of Mustafa Abu Yazid (alias Sheikh Saeed), the third-most senior leader of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan underscores the depletion of human reservoir of the organization. Yazid was killed in a drone strike in June 2010. Pakistan army also denied al-Qaeda effort to move into South Waziristan last October, though a number of the militant group fighters took refuge in North Waziristan, considered to be a haven for radical Islamist groups.
As a whole, the physical and political space of al-Qaeda has been shrinking in Pakistan; yet the group has managed to infect scoreless minds, particularly among the Punjabi Taliban, who are presently engaged in the brutal and indiscriminate campaign of violence across the country. All these attacks mentioned above ´ which occurred within six weeks with resulted in more than over 250 casualties, mostly of innocent women and children ´ , not only rocked entire Pakistan but also demonstrated the will capability of militant groups to strike at places of their choice. The strikes in Lahore also underlined underscored how another bitter reality; terror networks have proliferated urban centers, moving far beyond the northwestern tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.
…but Al-Qaeda Ideology Remains Intact:
The Deobandi outfits draw this influence from the Wahabite school of thought ´ introduced to the region by Osama bin Laden and his deputy Dr. Ayman al Zwahiri. Most of the mosques and religious seminaries under the direct or indirect influence of the Saudi Arabian and Egyptian radical Islamists, also receive funding from various sources grounded in Saudi Arabia and its neighborhood.
So while al-Qaeda might be appear to be losing ground, its ideology continues to hold sway in Pakistan, creating challenges for the government and non-militants.
But if the trends in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, particularly in Peshawar, Malakand/Swat region and the South Waziristan, are any indicators, support for those carrying out suicide bombings is dwindling; in at least two dozens instances between September 2009 and March 2010, local residents led the security forces to arrest members of Maulana Fazlullah TTP, considered an al Qaeda extension in the region. Also, the death in the Waziristan region of more than two dozen al Qaeda leaders and activists since early 2009, including that of Mustafa Abu Yazid alias Sheikh Saeed, the third-most senior leader of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan underscores the depletion of human reservoir of the organization. Yazid had headed Al Qaeda operations in Afghanistan until his elimination in a drone strike in June 2010.
Pakistan army also denied al Qaeda crucial sanctuaries when it moved into South Waziristan last October and continues to camp in the region, though a number of its fighters took refuge in North Waziristan, considered currently to be a bee-hive of radical Islamist groups.
Society Standing Strong against the Violence:
The human loss, particularly of women and children, as a result of suicide attacks, seems to have discredited suicide bombings as ‘a legitimate tool in the way of jihad.’ The condemnation of suicide attacks by the participants of a religious scholars– conference at Lahore late June also reflected a new trend within Pakistan; almost all scholars unanimously rejected suicide bombings as un-Islamic and impermissible. Earlier in October 2008, a similar congregation in Lahore had even issued a fatwa (decree) against suicide attacks, branding them as in conflict with the teachings of Islam.
As a whole, the physical space on Arab al Qaeda has been shrinking in Pakistan; yet it has meanwhile managed to infect scoreless minds, particularly among the Punjabi Taliban, who are presently engaged in the violent and indiscriminate campaign of violence across the country.